Sidewalks
by Priestess of Camazotz
Summary: Craig comes back to Degrassi with all the girls hating him for what he did to Manny and Ashley. What happens when a new girl comes but she doesn't judge on the past of a person? What about her own past? Is it really as bad as her hidden present? RR


            It was the beginning of the new year at Degrassi. The 11th graders were sitting in Mrs. Kwan's homeroom, staring at the ceiling, walls, or floor, bored. Craig Manning was wincing each time one of the girls in his class glared daggers at him. He sighed and noticed the sympathetic looks he was getting from some of the guys. He deserved the glares, it was true. The previous year he'd cheated on two girls at the same time. Now all the girls hated him, the girls in grade 11, the girls in grade 10, and probably in the other grades as well. He slumped back in his seat and stared moodily at Kwan.

            Suddenly the door opened, and a girl walked in. A new girl. A new, gothic, girl. She was standing there, in the entrance, her arms crossed over a black shirt that showed off her entire mid-riff and her pants were black, baggy, and had metal loops that made a V at the bottom of the legs. Her lips were covered in black lipstick, her hair was dark brown with blue streaks, and her eyes were heavily outlined with dark eyeliner. All in all, she was hot.

            "May I help you?" Kwan asked, getting over the shock of seeing the new girl.

            "I'm supposed to be here, I'm new, quite obviously," she said, looking down at a slip of paper. "I'm Adrienne Thompson…"

            "Welcome to Degrassi. You can have a seat back there by Craig. Craig? Wave a little so she knows who you are."

Still in shock, he waved his hand a little. She sighed and walked back to him, ignoring the whispers from the other girls. As she passed by a "punk" girl, she whispered, "Beware of the Cheater."

She gave the girl a small glare and sat in the empty desk next to Craig. He stared at her, and she raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

He shook his head and turned to the front, his eyes wide. This year was going to be very different, he could tell.

When the bell rang, they all got up and started for the door. Adrienne was one of the last out, along with Craig. She ignored him and walked down to her assigned locker. To her surprise, Craig appeared just a couple away from her. She glanced at him out of the corner of her light blue eyes and shook her head a little. He was cute, surrounded with that 'Help-me-I'm-so-alone-and-I'm-brooding' aura. She grabbed one of her many black notebooks and turned to him, leaning on her locker to close it.

"Why did that girl call you 'Cheater'?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

He jumped a little and turned to her. "Because I cheated on her and another girl last year," he said quietly.

"That was pretty stupid, really," she said, eyebrow raised.

He sort of nodded and sighed. "It was…your next class is Simpson, right? Follow me."

She shrugged and followed after him. He wasn't that bad really. He didn't have the attitude of most players. He seemed sorry about it. _That could be an act, however_, she thought to herself, sighing a little.

He led her into a room full of computers. Her eyes light up a little. She loved being on the net somewhere. Going to sit in an empty chair near him, since he was the only one she "knew", she set her notebook on the table next to her computer.

Another guy sat next to her, he had dark hair and dark eyes. Looking him over, she raised an eyebrow. _He's gay_, she thought to herself, and then looked at the screen.

Suddenly the teacher walked in. He looked like he'd shaved all the hair off his face. Even his eyebrows were shaved; she tilted her head a little, but decided not to ask.

"Welcome to a new year at Degrassi. We're going to start of this year with an assignment—" groans interrupted him "—as I was saying, an assignment. It will take all year, and it's basically like an online diary in which everyone can learn about each other. All of my classes are doing it. So if you would please sign onto the site and get started, we can get this under-way. Remember to create a password you will remember!"

Adrienne rolled her eyes and followed directions. Typing her name it, she sat and thought for a moment. She then typed in "David". She would never forget it; it was too close to her heart. Shaking her head before she started to cry, she sat and wondered what to type. Then she got it.

**_Yeah, I'm new here. There's pretty much nothing to write, really. I don't like it here, not the school, _****_Canada_****_ in general. I wish we were back in _****_Oregon_****_, but I doubt my dad will take us back. He seems to have gotten a lot colder…but I'm not going to go into that. There's no need to._**

****

**_Since no one here knows anything about me, I guess I'll just say what I'm gonna say and get it over and done with. I'm bisexual. Yeah, you heard me. I don't prefer girls, but I've had a few girlfriends in my life. If you don't think of me the same, that's your problem, not mine. I'm not gonna change for you all to like me. I never have in the past. _**

****

**_Anyway…let's see. I've spent most of my life in the States. I miss it there, so don't go and say bad stuff about it. _**

****

**_My life's pretty boring, but it doesn't matter. Maybe I'll write more some other time, not now though. _**

****

**_-Adrienne_**

****

Looking at it, she smirked a little. That would instantly lose her a couple of potential friends. Oh well, it really didn't matter. She was used to being a complete loner. She hit 'Submit' and sat back.

Craig sat next to her. He didn't really know what to put, but decided to write the truth, everything, and all his feelings. It would only lose more friends, not gain. He sighed and started to type:

**_New year at Degrassi. So far everyone hates me. Well, all the girls do anyway. Not that I didn't expect it. I really messed up last year with the Manny and Ashley thing. It was totally wrong, I know. I thought about it all summer, so if you two are reading this, I'm really, really sorry. _**

****

**_There's this new girl here, she already knows I cheated, so I bet she'll join the other girls in their 'Let's Hate Craig' strike. Oh well, I don't really blame her. I deserve it anyway._**

****

**_Not much to say, other than feeling guilty, my summer was pretty boring. It's a lot better than it could've been if my dad was still alive. He would've beaten me senseless, if not to death. I don't really miss him, I'm glad he's gone, even if mom wouldn't have liked it. She did leave him for Joey, though, so it doesn't really matter._**

****

**_I guess I'll put more later, but that's all for now._**

****

**_-Craig_**

****

Reading over it, he sighed and hit 'Submit'. It was a start, even if a pathetic one.

The class continued to work on their new 'web pages' until the bell rang. Simpson shouted over the scraping chairs and moving students, "You can upload pictures onto it, and even update it from home if you feel like it. See you tomorrow."

Craig ducked out of the classroom, just ahead of everyone else. This was going to be a long, long, year.

**A/N:** I'll update when I have five reviews. So…please review…I'll start working on the others.


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